Ex trying to force me to sell. Joint mortgage

Tina27_2

My ex is trying to force me to sell my house even though he doesn't live there anymore or pay towards any bills inc the mortgage.

We took a large mortgage and moved into the house about 18 months ago and put down a £25k deposit between us. We were both paying towards the mortgage until we decided the relationship wasn't working. He chose to move out and I was left paying all the bills including the mortgage on my own for the last 6 months. We agreed that if i paid my ex £12.5k (his half of the deposit) then i could keep the house. I have managed to get the money together to do this but the mortgage company wont take his name off the mortgage as they say it's too big to have just my name on it. (They will only lend 5 times yearly salary which puts me about £40k short). I can prove I have been paying the mortgage and all the bills on my own for the last 6 months and don't even want them to reduce the payments etc. There is a big redemption fee if i end the mortgage now as am on a fixed rate for the next 4 years.

My ex is now trying to force me to sell now even though the house is in negative equity. He doesn't seem to care that we may have to pay the bank even more money as the house is worth less than we owe. Plus we will have to pay the £9k redemption fee.

Is there any way he can force me to sell?
Is there anything else i can try to get the mortgage company to allow just my name on the mortgage?

poppysarah

Well you need to get his name off the mortgage else it's half his whether he pays or not.

Win the lottery is the best solution but not really an option.

I'm afraid you need some proper money advice ... can you afford the mortgage?

Soot2006

He wants £12.5k for you to take over his debt? HAHAHAHAHA!
Bite the bullet & sell the house. You can't afford to keep it. Let him pay his half of the debt ... or all of it. Hopefully your £12.5k is in cash and no one other than us know it exists!
Or is that too vindictive?

zzzLazyDaisy

I agree - why should you refund his deposit? The house is in negative equity, that means he has already lost his deposit and gained a debt! Keep your £12.5k and use it to cushion your own losses.

As for can he force you to sell? Well yes, he could, ultimately, but it would mean going to court for an Order for Sale, which would mean paying a solicitor and court fees. Is that really likely?

Anyway, he since he is being so unreasonable, he probably also has an unrealistic view of what the house is worth. Even if you put it on the market, you may not get any viewers. Even if you do get a viewer, you may not be available, or the house might be a mess, or you might refuse their 'ridiculous' offer... or........ (in the last crash it took over two years to sell the house that my ex was living in, because he did not want to move and was uncooperative. The only reason it finally sold was because he got together with someone else and SHE put pressure on him to sell up).

One thing you DON'T want to do is to sit there until the next upturn - if the house is in joint names, he will be entitled to a 50% share of any profit, even though he hasn't paid anything towards the mortgage or upkeep.

Tiger_greeneyes

I'm afraid that legally, he can force you to sell as it's the only way he'll be released from the mortgage - unless you can find a lender to take you on. I seriously doubt you will find one tbh, not these days. If you did find one then chances are the repayments will be much higher as you'd be considered a bigger risk.

He's taking the mick expecting you to buy him out for £12,500 considering the equity is no longer in the house, and considering you've already lost £12,500 of your own. He's in a win-win situation - he's got his money back and got rid of a mortgage which is worth far more than your house. It might help you to look at this objectively, or even as a damage-limitation scenario.

If you sell then you both end up owing money, not just you.

Personally, I'd withdraw the offer of £12,500 and give him a couple of options:

1) you sell the house and split the costs (it doesn't make any difference that you've been paying for everything this last six months, the lender won't care about that so long as someone has been paying - I know, I've been in your situation)

2) he gives you £12,500 and he gets the house

I know it's your home but you can make a home anywhere.

chriz1000

I’m not a financial adviser, but there are a few things I would look into if in a similar situation:

Is there a close family member with no/little debt, say for instance your mum or dad who can almost act as a guarantor by putting their name on the mortgage? Sure it’s a lot of responsibility and if you default they will be equally liable. Obviously you would need to be someone like your mum or dad since legally they would be entitled to half the proceeds when you come to sell.

If your £40k short and they will lend you 5 times your salary you need to earn at least another £8000 a year. If you have the space could you speak to the lender about getting lodgers in? If they accepted this it would increase your income. If you still weren’t earning enough money a second part time job could help you meet the criteria?

ALIBOBSY

If you do get a family member to go on the mortgage under no circumstances give your ex a penny! He would be lucky to get out not oweing anything. May be worth getting a few estate agents around to get some prices so you can show the ex there is no equity. Show him the figures re costs (estate agents fees, any tax, redemption costs, legal fees and explain as no equity he will OWE half of these costs if you sell and get nothing back).
He should be paying his half of the mortgage btw.

My sister had to sell up about 18 months ago due to a breakup and the bank allowed her a refund of the redemption against future mortgage (providing it was taken out within 6 months), but she had to ask and to get the whole amount (rather than half to each partner) her ex had to sign his share of any possible refund over to her (he moved abroad so wasn't bothered).

Go and speak to the bank, show them the figures and ask about any possible deal they could do on the redemption, worth getting all the facts before deciding which way to jump.

ali x